Sports World Reacts to Helmet Hit Penalty Called on A.J. Bouye vs Vikings

posted by Zac Rothrock -
Aug 18, 2018

In the first half of Saturday's preseason game vs. the Minnesota Vikings, A.J. Bouye was flagged for a helmet to helmet hit. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said the officials made the right call: "While the angle from the coaching film may be more clear, it appears that Bouye struck Ham with Bouye’s helmet, instead of hitting Ham with the flipper of Bouye’s shoulder pad. Also, Bouye had his head down instead of having his face up."

Some other members of the media weighed in via twitter.

According to the rules, if Bouye had not lowered his helmet and had taken the hit from Vikings Fullback C.J. Ham similar to how a basketball player takes a charge, it would have been a 15-yard penalty on Ham instead. This is a play that will be dissected by every media outlet this week, and it will most likely be a topic that stirs up controversy throughout the year a la the changes to the "catch" rule last season.